Mae Carol Jemison

In honor of Black History Month, every school day The Cardinal will feature a prominent and/or historical Black American, living or dead, who has worked toward change, advancement, and/or world peace. Some of them are heroes, and some are unsung heroes, who deserve recognition, and have made contributions to make society a better place.

Judith Sanchez, Staff Writer

February 27, 2024

Mae Carol Jemison is an accomplished physician, engineer, and former NASA astronaut and was born on October 17, 1956, in Decatur, Alabama.

The youngest of three children, she entered high school at 12 years old, and at 16 she went to Stanford. While there she was the head of the Black Student Union and graduated from Stanford with degrees in chemical engineering and African American studies in 1977. She then went to Cornell Medical School. After she graduated in 1981, she was a doctor for the Peace Corps in Liberia and Sierra from 1983 to 1985 and then worked as a general practitioner and took engineering courses then joined the NASA astronaut corps in 1987, and out of 2,000 applicants she was selected as one of 15 to serve in the STS-47 mission.

The Associated Press hailed her as the first Black woman astronaut, and during this time she was featured on CBS as one of the country’s most eligible singles. She was the first African American woman to travel into space mission specialist on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992. The Endeavour orbited the earth for nearly eight days September 12- 20th 1992. She retired in March 1993, and founded the Jemerson Group INC which also founded the Dorothy Jemison Foundation for excellence which was named after her mother. The foundation sponsors many events and programs for students and children, since then she has authored many books her first book find where the wind goes is a memoir written for kids and has had many more books written

She appeared on Star Trek The Next Generation and was the first real astronaut to appear in the series. Since then, she has been a public speaker speaking about science and technology. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.

About the Contributor

Judith Sanchez, Senior Editor

Judith Sanchez is a senior here at Hoover High School and a part of the ALMA Academy. She has been in the yearbook since her sophomore year because it is a great class. She has been a part of Mid-City Can and this organization helps raise money to improve the park across the street from their office in Henwood Park. Mid-City also attends city council meetings to discuss why the park needs funding. She spent this summer working at SeaWorld in the food carts and restaurants. Having this job over the summer helped her with talking to new and different people, and it helped with having patience when dealing with people. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music and watching films, her favorite songs are "Juna" by Clairo, "Taste" by Sabrina Carpenter, and "Guess" by Charli xcx. Her favorite films are Little Women and The Virgin Suicides. Her favorite foods are pasta, and her favorite drinks are lemonade and diet Coke. In the spring, she will graduate and head off to college. Some things that she is excited about are Grad night which will happen on her birthday and the Senior Walk that she has wanted to do since elementary school.